Whipping Childhood Cancer and Spreading Awareness

Raising awareness about a cause, especially one that impacts children, is important to faculty and staff at UR Medicine's Golisano Children's Hospital, even if it means getting a little messy. In honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, seven members of the hematology/oncology team at GCH took pies to the face to raise awareness and money for the cause on Sept. 2. The effort is part of a national initiative called “Whipping Childhood Cancer,” which challenges individuals to take a video of themselves getting hit in the face with a pie tin or paper plate of whipped cream and donate $7 to a pediatric cancer charity of their choice.

Participants are encouraged to nominate seven friends to take the challenge. If the challenge is not completed within 46 hours, nominees are asked to donate $46 and still nominate seven people.

Why 46 hours and seven people? Every day 46 children are diagnosed with cancer and seven children lose their lives to a form of the disease.

Check out our patients getting in on the action in our challenge video!

Care Coordinator and 4-3600 Nurse Leader Amy Roth, R.N., organized the challenge with hopes of it taking off. "You could see the excitement on their faces as they came toward us with the pies," said Amy. "It was important for us to invite patients to participate because they are the ones we are raising awareness for. We are hoping our small group will help this challenge go viral, just like the ice bucket challenge did for ALS, and will help to find a cure, support kids and families affected by cancer, and whip childhood cancer out of existence altogether."

One of the seven patients who was eager to get her hands on a pie of whipped cream was 2010 Miracle Kid Hailey Coniber. Hailey, now 7, was in remission until last year when doctors found spots on her lungs. Through it all, Hailey has developed close relationships with her medical team, with pediatric oncologist Lauren Bruckner, M.D., Ph.D., gladly accepting a pie-to-the-face from Hailey on Tuesday. Watch Channel 8's coverage of the challenge and learn more about Hailey's journey here.

To learn how a gift from you can help advance our care of patients like Hailey, visit "Curing Cancer in Children" on our Giving site. Cancer is one of the seven priority programs of our current $100 million campaign.